But you may not know that Darwin was a quiet, thoughtful and imaginative child when he was a child. He often does naughty things, plays practical jokes, or makes up some lies to deceive others.
Once, Darwin picked all the apples from an apple tree at home and hid them in the garden. After a while, he ran to his father and reported that he had finally found a place to hide the stolen fruit. Father didn't expose his trick, but said, "The child has a rich imagination ..."
Darwin had a strong desire to collect since he was a child. He likes to collect and study all kinds of pebbles, coins, shells, eggs, seals, stamps, dried plants and dead bugs. He is particularly fond of insects. Once, Darwin peeled off an old bark and found two beetles he had never seen before. He was so surprised that he immediately caught one in one hand. Who knows that at this time, a strange beetle appeared in the bark next to it. Darwin wanted to catch this beetle again, but he was reluctant to throw away the two beetles he had already got. what should he do ？ He had a brainwave and immediately put the beetle in his right hand in his mouth to catch a new one. Suddenly he let out a cry and spit out the beetle in his mouth. It turned out that the beetle secreted a poisonous juice, which stung his tongue like a terrible pain.
Darwin's small bedroom is full of various collections. Whenever he has time, he labels every collection, classifies it and observes it. As time goes on, he can actually try to recognize the names of some trees. Darwin liked to keep dogs. His dog is good at catching mice. Darwin didn't learn much at school, but he went to nature and gained knowledge in practice. Moreover, he has developed the habit of observing and identifying organisms independently since he was a child, which laid a good foundation for his determination to engage in biological research in the future.
Little Darwin has an outstanding personality: he has a wide range of interests, is often addicted to things he is interested in, and likes to get to the bottom of all kinds of complicated problems and things. At the age of 9, he and his brother were sent to Chirouze Bury School, which was headed by Dr. Butler. This is a completely old-fashioned school, its curriculum is monotonous and empty, and school life is like a stagnant pool, which makes Darwin extremely disgusted. So, he often sneaked out of school, sometimes went to the suburbs to shoot birds, and sometimes ran home to Doby dogs to continue collecting all kinds of things. He and his brother, with the help and support of his father, set up a crude chemistry laboratory in a shed in the garden. They collected a lot of bottles and cans, absorbed in reading the book Chemical Questions and Answers by Henry and Parker, and then often worked late into the night in the laboratory to make various gases and compounds. Unexpectedly, this incident was later known by Dr. Butler, who severely reprimanded the two children:
"Doing experiments is a matter for scientists. You're here for a classical literature education. If you mess around again, I'll consider firing you! "
To this end, the two brothers had to put down their chemical experiments and recite Latin and Greek. Darwin was nicknamed Qi by his classmates. Of course, Darwin's main interests focused on botany and entomology. Under the guidance of his uncle, he studied the works of some great writers and poets to enrich his writing skills. Every time the school goes to church, students are required to recite the Bible, but Darwin recited the works of Homer, Virgil, Horace, Shakespeare, Milton, Byron and Shelley. All this is regarded by the school as an act beyond the school rules. The headmaster, Dr. Butler, once reprimanded Darwin in front of all the teachers and students, saying that he was a fool, with mediocre intelligence and a hopeless student, and insisted that Darwin drop out of school. When his father took him home from school, he also angrily called him a disappointing child who only knew how to hunt, keep dogs, catch mice, catch birds and make up lies. He said that if this continued, he would bring shame on himself and his family. However, neither Dr. Butler nor old Darwin, including many people around Darwin, realized that Darwin had begun to embark on the road of science at this time. It is precisely because of his rich imagination, strong diverse interests, determined personality and good habits of independent observation and practice that he laid a solid foundation for becoming a great man in the future.